


Serendipity...or Not?

by LazyPotatoo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, M/M, NaruSasu - Freeform, Online Relationship, Online Romance, SasuNaru - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-20 20:43:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2442485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyPotatoo/pseuds/LazyPotatoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just like how Earth revolved around the Sun, it was a given that Naruto and Sasuke hated every fiber of each other's beings. But when Naruto and Sasuke sign up for an anonymous chatting website, they immediately click and hit it off. Will the Earth come into a standstill…and stop revolving around the Sun? AU NaruSasu SasuNaru</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Dare You!

serendipity (ser·en·dip·i·ty) _noun._ the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

**Naruto**

I trained my eyes on the Mr. I’ve-got-a-stick-up-my-ass, pretending to burn a hole through the side of his head. It was all his fault. If he didn’t give me that—that _haughty_ smirk while holding up his test (obviously marked A+) then I wouldn’t have—

“—punched Sasuke!” Senju Tsunade, the headmaster of Konoha High, shouted. “That is absolutely unacceptable. Uzumaki Naruto, _stop_ making goo-goo eyes at Sasuke, I’m talking to you!”

                I shot up my chair, indignance rising hotly in my chest. “What! That’s not what I was-” I snapped my mouth shut at the nasty glare she sent me. Scowling, I sat back down, mumbling under my breath, “It’s not like Sasuke didn’t hit me either.”

“What was that?” Her tone was dangerous. I looked down into my lap and stayed silent. Tsunade sighed, putting her hands together on her desk. “Anyways, as I was going to say, Naruto, your behavior is unacceptable. You’re already sixteen, it’s time you grow out of this, don’t you think?”

I almost punched his right eye—the one that I hadn’t yet—when I heard him huff patronizingly. That son of a bitch!

But I was in the she-devil’s presence, so I held myself in.

“Don’t think you’re let off the hook, Sasuke. You have just as much blame as Naruto does in this.” I glanced sideways towards the Bastard, with the capital B. I saw that he had opened his mouth slightly to protest, only for Tsunade to continue before he could speak, “You guys have detention with Ibiki-sensei every Tuesdays for a month.” It was bad, but I expected it. “And I’m going to call your parents,”

Shit _._

“Tsunade-obaachan-sama-I mean, Tsunade-sama, you can’t do this!” I pleaded out. “I promised I won’t do it again so just don’t call Iruka!”

 Iruka was one hundred times worse than Satan when he was angry.

Tsunade knew this. She shot me a pitying look and she shook her head. “It’s been seven too many times for me to believe that.”

She dismissed us after that, calling out before I closed the door, “Don’t you start another fight down the hall, you hear me?”

I rolled my eyes, my shoulders slumping forward glumly. Like I had the time to do that. I have more pressing problems to deal with…like Iruka.

He had adopted me after a while of visiting me at the orphanage when I was six. I wasn’t told much as a child—like who my parents were. All I had known back then was I had no parents and that I _loathed_ living in the orphanage. When Iruka had took me in, life definitely started to look up. He was caring and fun to be around, like a parent and brother at the same time. I wouldn’t trade Iruka—even if I had to suffer through the orphanage for six years—for my real parents.

But still.

When he was mad…I shuddered, walking out of the school campus, heading home.

I swiveled around, pointing a finger at the Bastard. “Stay at least fifty meters away from me from now on, got it Bastard? Don’t wanna catch your Bastardly germs.” The Bastard ignored me and kept walking the opposite direction.

I guess it was good that he did. I might’ve accidently socked him in the balls if he mouthed off at me.

* * *

The next day, Kiba came ringing my doorbell as he did everyday. Inuzuka Kiba was my next door neighbor and my best friend. He had been my very first and best friend since he had rung the door bell the first day I moved into Iruka’s house.

Iruka shouted good-naturedly from the kitchen, “Naruto! Kiba’s here!”

He was still angry at me.

Pretending I didn’t know that, I shouted back to my foster father, “Alright, coming!”

I stumbled downstairs with my backpack hanging on one shoulder. I thanked Iruka quickly as he handed me a piece of toast that had been slathered with jelly. Shutting the front door quietly, I walked in pace with Kiba to school.

“So how was he?”

Knowing exactly what Kiba was talking about, Naruto sighed heavily. “Bad. He’s grounded me…”

“That’s not too bad, is it?”

“…for a year.” I finished.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” I said dryly. “And he’s doing his fake ‘I’m not mad at you at all!’ thing.” I quoted with my free hand in the air, putting the toast to my mouth with the other hand.

I held in a wince when Kiba slapped me in the back hard, “Well, he’ll get over it! I’m pretty sure he’ll unground you sooner or later.”

I stared ahead at the nearing school as I replied dubiously, “I hope so.”

“Oh yeah!” My friend started loudly, causing people to turn around and stare. Kiba grinned at me widely as he jumped in front of me. “Guess what! I have a good idea!”

This can’t be good; the last time he “had a good idea,” it had resulted in the fire alarms in the school to go off. But it was a fun experience. “What?” I asked.

“I thought of a good dare for you!”

Uh oh.

“I dare you to sign up for a gay online dating website!”

I gave him a look. “What if the person behind the screen who I’m talking to is actually a rapist who’s into BDSM?”

Kiba barked out a laugh. “Well, technically it wouldn’t be considered _rape_ , since he’d assume you signed up for the website for a good fuck in the first place.”

“But it’s a _dating_ website, keyword, _dating_. Not a prostitute forum or whatever!”

He put a finger to his chin. “Is there such thing?”

“That’s not the point. Do you _want_ me to be raped?”

“You just don’t have to meet him in real life.” Kiba pointed out.

I took that in for a moment and grinned back at him. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Kiba hooted in glee, pumping his hands in the air. “That’s why you’re my best friend!”

“But not a gay dating website. I’ll do an anonymous chatting website.”

His face fell immediately. “You’re not my best friend anymore.”

We walked into the Konoha High, but not before I scoped the area to make sure the Bastard wasn’t around. Luckily he wasn’t. I did _not_ want to deal with him.

Kiba and I parted ways as he entered his classroom, not saying a thing to me, still sulking about my lack of participation for his dare. I walked into the class right next to his. I dropped my bag onto my desk with a sigh. Who cares Kiba wanted. One year of groundment! Or goundation.

I sunk into my chair, propping my elbow on my desk, leaning on the palm of my hand with another sigh.

“Is there something wrong?” Gaara.

I shook my head as I turned slightly toward him. He stood before my desk, looking down at me with his quiet panda eyes. “Nothing, really.” I groaned. “Except that Iruka grounded me for a year!”

He blinked, covering his piercing pale green eyes for a moment. “Will you still be able to come to basketball practice?”

Gaara and I played on Konoha Foxes’ basketball team as regulars since freshman year. We hadn’t really liked each other much at first, but now he was one of my closest friends.

I flashed him a smile of reassurance. “Iruka wouldn’t do that to me. I’m still able to participate in club activities.”

He nodded silently, heading back to his seat when the bell rung.

The rest of the day went by without incident, except for a short shouting match with the Bastard, which happened nearly everyday anyways.

Nearly the same words, too. It normally consisted something along the lines of:

“You’re a Bastard.”

“Well, you’re a loser.”

“Says the one with no friends.”

“Says the one who can’t get above a seventy-five percent.”

“Says the one with a stick as long as the Tokyo Tower stuck up his ass!”

“Dead-last.”

“You wanna take this outside?! Bring it!”

* * *

“Should I lie about my age?” I was sitting in front of my computer in my room, spinning slightly on my swivel chair. I had signed up for the website and was currently filling out my profile.

Kiba, who was lying on my bed with a popsicle, replied lethargically, “Do what you want. It doesn’t matter anymore since it’s not a gay dating website anyway.”

I swiveled my chair around to face him. “Well, _I’m sorry_ I didn’t want to get raped by a sex crazed forty-year-old!”

Kiba rolled to the side, his back facing me as he snorted. “You better be.”

I rolled my eyes in exasperation, going back to the monitor. I guess I’ll just be truthful about everything, except for my name. I quickly typed into the little boxes, leaving my name for last.

“What should my name be…” I thought aloud, spinning in my chair, propelling myself by grabbing my desk every time I faced it.

“Just scramble the letters in your name around to something acceptable.” Kiba replied and sat up. “Oops, my popsicle shitted on your mattress.”

I stopped my spinning, reaching across my desk for a tissue box and threw him at him, aiming for his nether regions.

He covered the area with his hands before it hit him. “Hey! Kiba Jr. doesn’t appreciate that.” After a pause, he spoke again. “How about ‘Touzuna Kiruma?’” He suggested.

I shrugged. Whatever. I’m pretty sure I would get bored of this thing after a day or two. My fingers flitted over my keyboard, typing the alias in. I scrolled down to the bottom, where I clicked ‘Save.’ “Mmkay. Done.”

I heard Kiba stand up and walk up to my screen, leaning closer to it from behind me. “Now let’s look for someone to talk to.” He had regained his enthusiasm, the light of the computer giving his eyes a maniacal glow.

I clicked into the ‘Find a Friend’ section, quickly scanning the list of profiles most closely related to me in age. The first one on the list was a guy named Tsubasa Karasumi. Online. “Oh, Tsubasa made his profile at the same time as me.”

Kiba hummed as I clicked into his profile.

 **Name:** Tsubasa Karasumi

 **Age:** 16

 **Likes:** N/A

 **Dislikes:** N/A

“This guy doesn’t seem very interesting.” I commented to Kiba.

“Yeah.” He replied briefly.

“Well I’m going to chat with this guy anyways. Maybe it’s fate that we signed up at the exact same time.” I cracked a smile, knowing there was no such thing as fate.

I clicked the email icon next to his name, bringing the page to a new message box.

_Hello! I’m Touzuna Kiruma. Nice to meet’cha! Isn’t it interesting? We joined this thing at the exact same time._

_And aren’t you going to fill out your profile? It looks pretty plain with just your name and age._

_Cheers,_

_Touzuna Kiruma_

Kiba and I exchanged a grin. “Now let’s see what he’ll reply.” I said as I turned back to the screen.

“Would’ve been better if you said something less lame, though.” Kiba just had to add.

“Shut up.”


	2. Awakening

“Hold fast to dreams,  
For if dreams die  
Life is a broken-winged bird,  
That cannot fly.”   
― Langston Hughes

* * *

**Sasuke**

_Hello! I’m Touzuna Kiruma. Nice to meet’cha! Isn’t it interesting? We joined this thing at the exact same time._

_And aren’t you going to fill out your profile? It looks pretty plain with just your name and age._

_Cheers,_

_Touzuna Kiruma_

I stared at my laptop screen, sitting up in bed with my black-rimmed glasses on as I rested my back against a pillow.

 I couldn’t believe I was doing this. Signing up for some whatever chat site.

All well, I might as well respond to this person since I’m already here.

Closing my eyes for a second, I adjusted my glasses and mulled over at Touzuna Kiruma’s PM to me. I tiled my head to the side, curiosity making me click on his profile link.

 **Name:** Touzuna Kiruma

 **Age:** 16

 **Likes:** RAMEEN! Basketball, hanging out with friends.

 **Dislikes:** Bastards.

He seemed like a pretty normal sixteen year old. I brought my mouse to the back button, returning to Touzuna’s PM page.

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Leaning back on my pillow, I looked up at the ceiling in thought. Then I clicked the ‘reply’ button. I was just going to wing this.

_Hello. I’m Tsubasa Karasumi. It’s a pleasure._

_Indeed, it was quite coincidental for us to sign up at the same time._

_Worry not; I will fill my profile out in time._

_From,_

_Tsubasa Karasumi_

Almost immediately, I heard my laptop give out a soft ‘ _ding!’_ which notified me that I had one new message. I refreshed the page and scrolled down, seeing a new email from Touzuna Kiruma.

_Why are you speaking like an old man?_

_loosen up wontcha? xD_

_\--Kiruma_

I crinkled my brows, unsure of what to say to that.

_ummm…what do you mean by ‘loosening up?’_

_would you like it if I didn’t capitalize anything?_

_\--Karasumi_

His computer chirped again.

_LOL. sure XD I really just meant that you didn’t have to act like you were speaking to your teacher or something!_

_so how long later is ‘in time?’_

_\--Kiruma_

_p.s., you forgot to uncapitalize the “I” in your last sentence. :)_

I felt a slight smile surface my face as I quickly typed out a reply. Touzuna seemed like a fun person.

_ah, my bad. next, would you like me to take out my apostrophes?_

_and don’t (or should it be “dont”) worry about it. i’ll fill my profile out in due time._

_\--Karasumi_

I reached out an arm, grabbing my cup of tea I had brewed before I settled into my bed and took a slow sip from it. The warmth of the drink pooled in my stomach, making me sigh contently. I refreshed the page repeatedly, waiting for a response from Touzuna.

_lol :D_

_and sure, whenever you’re ready to._

_so where do u live? I live in Tokyo_

_\--Kiruma_

My eyebrows shot up in mild surprise. So Kiruma lived in the same city as me. Adjusting my glasses slightly, I began typing out my answer.

* * *

Trapped.

Caged.

Living in a hazy dream—an obscure glass surrounding me, unbreakable and unclear. This was the surreal world I lived in the moment my mother died when I was eight, leaving me behind with Itachi and my father.

They were my only family left—yet it felt like I had lost them too.

My father, Fugaku Uchiha, dove into his work, the Uchiha Corporations, when she had died, distancing himself from Itachi and I. Very quickly, Itachi was whisked away from me when my father realized his ingenious could be used in the company.

So I was left alone.

Most kids would love that—I used to always want to have easy parents. But it’s a whole other matter when your family just doesn’t _care_.

The days, the weeks, the years—they were all the same for me—sleep, eat, study. All just to live up to my father’s expectations. He didn’t want an _almost_ perfect son, he wanted _perfect_. I tried to be that, and I still do.

Somewhere along the numbing days, I, too, stopped caring for myself. I resigned to my chained self, fully accepting it.

I felt hollow. Like a shell with no soul.

I was a prisoner being molded into someone by a man I call Father.

But then—

I was eleven at the time, and a new kid had transferred into my class in the middle of the year.

He had the prettiest complexion I’d ever seen.

It wasn’t really his complexion that intrigued me, per say. It was this—I wasn’t sure how to describe it—this kind of light in his eyes. They were oceanic blue—the really bright and clear kind when sunlight shines through the sea. And I knew the moment I looked into them that he was what I wanted to be.

I was jealous. I’m not going to deny that. But that wasn’t why I had started hating him. I liked how he could do whatever he wanted without a second thought, but that was _exactly_ what I hated about him. That boy—Uzumaki Naruto—he was so impulsive that it got on everyone’s nerves. Clearly it didn’t spare mine.

It didn’t get any better when he called me a bastard “with a capital ‘B.’”

Which was actually quite extraordinary, considering that was the first thing he said to me when we met. And mind you, we were only nine years-old at the time.

Both of us were sent home and suspended for two days on his first day of his transfer. We had gotten in a heated argument, eventually resulting Naruto to throw his plastic fork at me. Of course I easily avoided it, but it hit a kid behind me instead.

I couldn’t help but throw my dry piece of bread at him in retaliation.

It had hit him square on the forehead.

That day had been one of the best days of my life since my mom had died.

At that very moment with the new kid, Uzumaki Naruto, not a single thought of my father, Itachi, the expectations, were on my mind.

I felt—I felt like I was someone.

Uzumaki Naruto made me feel awake.

The frozen clock in me—it had started ticking once more.

I still hated him though. That dobe.

* * *

I held in a yawn skillfully without even a twitch as I sat in the back seat of the car with a leg crossed over the other comfortably. I fought to stay awake, jerking myself awake when the car swerved a turn sharper than usual. Last night I had stayed up to talk to Kiruma, so I was deathly tired.

He already knew me better than anyone else did.

We talked about the randomest things—jumping from one topic to another, every single one of them had me cracking a smile once or twice. Except when we reached more serious subjects: about ourselves. At first, I had tried to give as little information about me as possible, fully aware that the person behind the name “Kiruma” could really be anyone. But as the night went on, it all flowed out of my fingers as I kept tapping my keyboard as though they had a life of their own.

Perhaps the idea of anonymity made it easier to speak. Or maybe it was Kiruma’s open-mindedness. I don’t know.

I stared out the window, frowning in thought. I almost didn’t notice a familiar mop of spiky blonde hair walking on the sidewalk near the school gates. I let out a small huff of amusement when Naruto yawned widely (of course without covering it) and smacked into the wall when he wasn’t paying attention. He looked around quickly to see if anyone had saw and then kicked his friend Kiba for laughing at him.

When my driver pulled over, I thanked him and got out of the car, schooling my face to an emotionless mask of indifference. Internally grimacing at the gaggle of girls around my car squealing loudly, I walked to the school building of Konoha High, a _pathway_ literally being made for me amongst the other students as the group of girls trailed behind me. Their piercing voices did not sooth the headache I felt coming in. I closed my eyes for a second, trying to prevent my eyebrows from twitching in irritation. You’d think I was a celebrity or something.

“Sasuke-kun!” A sickly sweet voice called my name out from behind. It was that rabid fangirl, Taruno Sakura or something. I had better things to do than remembering my stalkers’ names. I stepped into the school building, ignoring the pink head. “Sasuke-kun!” She repeated, this time tugging on my sleeve, making me turn around abruptly to yank her grip away and face her.

“What?” I bit out frostily, giving her a cold stare.

I felt a brief spark of triumph when Taruno—Yaruno—or was it Haruno—faltered slightly, her face falling before it brightened immediately. She gave me what looked like the gaze of the ugly gnome we had in our large garden in the back—I put it in the backyard after a few days we bought because it was too hideous. The pinky batted her eyelashes at me, making my skin crawl with disgust as she twirled her hair in a way she probably thought made her look cute, and mewled out, “Sasuke-kun, do you like my new hairstyle? I heard you liked long hair, so I-”

I walked away from her with a stony face as quick as I could without looking like I was rushing.

The moment I entered my classroom, my eyes were immediately drawn to the bright blonde hair across the room. As usual, he was at his desk, surrounded by his group of friends. He had the side of his right cheek against the desk, clearly grumbling about something. I guessed it was that faceplant with the wall this morning, considering the way Kiba was making animated motions of pretending to slam into something while explaining something that had the circle of people gathered around laughing.

I turned away and quietly sat at my desk, pulling out a book to read, waiting for class to start.

* * *

 It was lunch time, when I was sitting at a random table, which was unfortunately filled with annoying and yapping girls. The moment I sat down, one or two would plop down right next to me. I’m wasn’t entirely sure how they got here at such a timely moment, since I didn’t exactly get to lunch at the same time everyday—teachers often excused us late.

Well, other than the girls that stuck to me all day, lunch was pretty ordinary. Until that _dobe_ , he—well, at first I didn’t know it was him.

Here’s what happened.

I was eating a peanut butter jelly sandwich because I love them. I don’t bring them too often for in case my fangirls think I like it and start bringing them to school for me everyday. That would be bad. I will _not_ accept anything from those monsters.

Anyway, I was eating my sandwich, tuning out the usual noises at lunch when someone bumped into me in the back, causing my face to fall forward _splat_ into my poor sandwich. And my poor face. I winced at the shrieks of the girls next to me. The stalker queens, Haruno and Inoichi, were obviously the loudest. I managed to ignore them and swiveled around with a death glare, ready to kill whoever did that.

And lo and behold—who else?

Uzumaki Naruto.

I let out a low, furious growl: “U-zu-ma-ki-Na-ru-to!” I stood up at the same time, slamming my hands on the lunch table.

His blue eyes were wide as he put his hands up, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He shook his head with superficial innocence and apologized loudly. “Oh, sorry about that! It was an accident—” Naruto suddenly put a hand to his mouth, a sad attempt to cover a snicker.

My fists began shaking as I stepped out the lunch table, facing him squarely. He had the nerve to—! “Oh, so it was an accident now was it?” My voice was soft and dangerous.

He suddenly burst out into full-blown laughter, slapping his hands on his knees with his shoulders shaking in near hysterics. “I-It really w-whahahahaha!”

I was not going to punch him.

I was not going to rip his hair out.

I was _not_ going to skin him alive.

Deep breaths. In and out. Father would butcher _me_ if I started another—oh wait, he wouldn’t care. He would simply be _very_ displeased at the stain in my records and how it’d affect my, or rather his, career. He had a reputation to keep. I am his son, after all.

I pushed past the dobe, hissing in his ear, “I already have _detention_ with you, so I won’t cause trouble here. But there won’t be a next time, Dobe.”

Yanking myself away from the fawning and cooing girls that followed me, I resisted the childish urge to stomp into the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry if this seemed like an abrupt ending..I hope not. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sasuke is fun to write in, haha. But I may have put too much summarizing and no advancement in the plot, sorry about that. :3 I’m getting there!


	3. PBJ Hazard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pbjs are amazing

**Naruto**

It was an honest mistake, I swear. I was late for lunch, so I had to run to the line before all the ramen ran out in the cafeteria. But—and I really don’t know why it’s always him—I just _had_ to bump into you-know-who. Yep, Sasu-gay. No way he’s straight. The way all those girls fawn over him and his lack of reaction is proof right there. His parents chose a very fitting name for him.

Anyway, I apologized, trying to avoid conflict as much as possible. Food was the top priority. I _needed_ the ramen. He swung his legs over the lunch table bench and glared at me with these monstrous, furious eyes. He looked like he was going to rip my face off and fold my skin to a paper (well, skin, in this case) crane, and rip the cartilage of my nose out and snap it into a billion little pieces with a sadistic smile—okay, maybe it was just my imagination running wild. Let me put it as that he looked fairly intimidating.

But it just didn’t work well with all that PB&J dripping down his face.

I probably shouldn’t have, but I did. I laughed at his face. Couldn’t hold it in. I actually did a literal knee-slapper.

Anyone would have laughed, and I mean _anyone_. His fangirls don’t count as anybodies, by the way. _They_ were burning holes into me until I’d become swiss cheese. 80% holes and 20% cheese, as a matter of fact.

I was going to hand him a tissue that I _may_ have used before but then he slapped his girls’ hands away who had all offered him something to clean up with. So I figured he wouldn’t appreciate my token of generosity either.

Luckily, we moved on like mature adults so there was no fuss and I still got a decent meal—as good as it’d get with school lunch. It still pissed me off how he’d called me a dobe though. Fucking asshole! It was completely unintentional!

Other than that, lunch was normal. I ate at my usual table group with Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Gaara, Neji and Lee.

After lunch, I was walking with Kiba towards our respective classrooms. He nudged my arm with his elbow hard before leaning over and giving me a goofy smirk. “So, how’s it going with the, uh, what’s his name again? Tsubasa something-sumi?”

I elbowed him hard back in the ribs, making him yelp in pain and surprise. “’S okay. Nothing too interesting about it.”

He dug his elbows into my ribs harder than before. “Oh, I see.”

“Yep.” I said in return with a low growl. I stuck my foot out in front of him, successfully tripping him and proceeded to shove him lightly on the back. Kiba began to sail face forward towards the ground but (unfortunately) caught himself in time. When he turned around with a glare, I schooled my face to a bright smile and apologized innocently, “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Kiba fell in step behind me and pretended to look away as he slammed his shoulder against mine, pushing me with enough force for my face to almost get smashed in the wall for what would have been the second time in the same day. He grunted as he replied, “It’s fine.”

Dropping our “whoops, accidently elbowed you too hard!” façade, I regained my balance and pounced at him with a shout. “Oh, hell no! You did not just—!” I pushed him to the ground, feeling a feral grin emerge on my face as we fell to the ground; Kiba’s back taking the brunt of the fall.

“You deserved it!” Kiba yelled through our kerfuffle. “Plus, you already kissed the wall once, why not again—“ His words died in his mouth before he could finish as he looked up from the ground to something—or someone behind me.

I turned my head slowly, a sense of foreboding suddenly washing through me. I immediately stood up and bowed politely when I saw who it was. “Uh, Tsunade-baachan-er-sama!”

She whacked the back of my head hard and said, “Don’t call me baachan. What in the world are you two doing? Get to your classes already.” I lifted my head up, rubbing the spot she hit me. Tsunade-baachan looked around to see that a small crowd had gathered around us and waved them off, announcing loudly, “You lot, too, get to class.”

* * *

After basketball practice, I walked home, took a shower and changed into comfortable sweats. I crashed into my swivel chair and turned on the lamp at the corner of my desk. I leaned forward and opened a bag of chips that I had on my desk and munched on it as I waited for my computer to turn on.

I immediately clicked open my browser and went on the chat site again. Tsubasa Karasumi. He was an interesting person to talk to. He was an awkward guy—I could tell he didn’t have a lot of friends from his mannerisms. He didn’t really have anyone close in his life anymore, ever since his mother had died. His father and his older brother didn’t seem to be close with him. But he was a good guy with a strange sense of humor that made me laugh, not because he was funny, but because he was so _weird._

My eyes glanced to the left side of the screen, checking my friends list (which consisted of one person) to see if he was online. There was a green dot next to his name, so indeed he was.

I moved my mouse to my inbox, seeing that a new mail from Tsubasa had arrived. Smiling faintly, I opened it up and read the contents.

_Hey, are you there?_

_How was basketball practice?_

_\--Karasumi_

Somewhere in the middle of our conversation last night, Karasumi just gave up trying to “unspell” everything into text lingo. When I told him, he had replied with amusement in his words, saying he hadn’t even noticed it.

I spun in my swivel chair once and stopped myself with a hand as I clicked the reply button with the other hand.

_it was fun :D the guys there are cool_

_\--Kiruma_

I refreshed the page repeatedly, keeping my eyes glued on my inbox. When I saw a new reply pop up in my box, I immediately dragged my mouse to it and clicked it.

_When’s the start of the tournament?_

_And today I found out that this site actually has an app! I’m currently contacting you from my phone, in fact._

_\--Karasumi_

I raised my eyebrows at that and kicked off from my desk to my bed, wheeling myself over on my chair. I grabbed my phone off my blanket and downloaded the app. Opening it, I found another new message from Karasumi.

_Did you get the app?_

_\--Karasumi_

I tapped out a response on my keyboard as I strolled back to my desk with another kick from my bed.

_yep :D now i’ve got you in my pocket 24/7!_

_\--Kiruma_

My phone buzzed momentarily, indicating a new message.

_Haha, you’re in my pocket as well._

_\--Karasumi_

I spun in circles on my chair, my arms resting on my knees, as I typed quickly on my phone.

_I’ll hold you tight at night ;)_

_ya kno how they say it: keep your friends close but your enemies closer_

_\--Kiruma_

_Wait what?! What’s that supposed to mean? I’m your enemy? lol_

_Also, don’t do that, that’d be just plain weird._

_\--Karasumi_

I snickered aloud at his reaction and pulled myself back in front of the computer. I set down my phone and began typing.

_because you said that, i’m gonna snuggle with you tonight real good. ;D_

_\--Kiruma_

_You weirdo!_

_\--Karasumi_

I laughed and spun my chair around, feeling suddenly energized.

_says YOU XDD_

_\--Kiruma_

_Heey…I’m normal. Don’t try pointing fingers at me for nothing!_

_So, when is the basketball tournament starting?_

_\--Karasumi_

 

_just playing with ya :)_

_yeah the tournament starts next week Friday_

_\--Kiruma_

_Yeah, like how you always do! Sigh._

_Well, good luck with it :)_

_I need to go now, I’ll hit you up later._

_\--Karasumi_

Pushing down my disappointment of having him leave so soon, I typed a quick farewell to him. I leaned back on my chair and stared up at the ceiling, suddenly unsure of what to do.

* * *

The next morning, Kiba and I were walking to school when he jumped up, propelling himself higher by leaning heavily on my shoulder with a hand. My knees buckled under the unexpected pressure from him. He waved his free arm frantically, shouting across the street, “Hey! Hinata! Over here!”

I sighed. “Do you have to shout in my ear so early in the morning?!” I yelled right back at him in his left ear.

He turned away from Hinata for a moment, who obviously had heard us—along with six million others who were walking down the same road, and had begun walking in our direction. Kiba gave me a kicked puppy look (which looked disgusting on him), putting a hand over his ear, “What was that for? What did I do wrong?”

“Everything! You being born in this world was wrong!”

He gasped loudly and clapped his hand over his heart, leaning over on the ground in a dramatic pose. “Oh, Naruto-sama, how you wound me so!”

I sighed again. Dealing with Kiba first thing in the morning sometimes was so annoying. I gave Hinata a small smile when I saw her approaching us tentatively. “Hey, Hinata.”

She reddened slightly, as she always did, and glanced down sideways before looking at me again. “Good morning, Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun.”

On the rest of the way to school, Kiba made constant feeble attempts at conversation with Hinata. I walked one step behind in silence, absently half-listening to them.

Hinata’s classroom was the first we passed, so we bid her goodbye as she walked in. Watching the classroom door slide close, I said lowly near Kiba’s ear, “You like her, don’t you.” Kiba stiffened and turned away, the tips of his ears turning pink. I laughed and slapped his back. “Good luck trying to get her!” I swung my arm around his shoulders and gave him a nudge.

He stumbled sideways with a yelp. “Shut up!” Kiba threw me an irritated glare.

I simply smiled, walking to my class.

Teasing Kiba had awoken me from my morning subdued state. I slid open the classroom door quickly, grinning as I greeted my classmates, “Good morning, fellow students!”

Shikamaru who had his head on the desk mumbled, “Pipe down, Naruto…”

Gaara nodded at me.

“Shut up, dobe. Peoples’ ear drums are going to start bleeding if you keep talking.”

 My mood immediately darkened at the sound of his voice. Scowling, I turned my head towards the source.

Uchiha Sasuke.

He was at his seat, slightly turned around so he could aim that _arrogant_ smirk of his at me. Before I could say anything in return, he turned away, facing the front of the class and stuffed his ear buds in.

“Bastard!” I stomped up to my seat and threw my bag onto my desk lightly. I muttered out, “Coward. He knew he couldn’t take my wit so he escaped.” Which was kind of a good thing. If I got into even further trouble with the Bastard, Tsunade-baachan would definitely have something to say about that. I slumped in my chair and let out a miserable groan when I remembered I had detention with Ibiki-sensei afterschool.

Worst of all: with Uchiha Sasuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmkay! Sorry for the slow update. I didn’t really know what to put into their email conversations. Hope it turned out okay?
> 
> Tell me what you guys think! :)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Gripping Cold

**Sasuke**

 

_SNAP!_

The ruler slapped against Ibiki-sensei's hand sharply, making Naruto and I jump in our seats. "If you kids don't stop giving each other these lust filled glances, I'll whip both of your asses down the drain."

My eyes widened in outrage at Ibiki-sensei's words.  _Lust filled?_ I suppressed my reaction and turned back to my homework.

Obviously, Naruto completely disregarded the fact that he was in detention and slammed his hands hard on his desk as he stood up with a shout. "Lust filled?! Ibiki-sensei, please, don't suggest disgusting things like that!"

I knew without looking that Naruto had on a horrified face. I would too, if I wasn't an Uchiha.

Naruto was threatened for double the detention if he didn't sit right back down that very moment.

Naruto sat right back down that very moment.

The rest of the hour was quiet. Occasionally, Naruto would shift in his seat or clear his throat. Ibiki-sensei would snap his ruler on the board or the palm of his hand threateningly once in a while for the fun of it. I just silently worked on my homework.

Eventually when the sun had begun to set, Ibiki-sensei cleared his throat and said, "Alright kids, you're free to go. I expect to see you next Tuesday!"

Both me and Naruto—Naruto looking nine times more frantic than I was—packed our bags in a hurry and left the room. Right before we left, Ibiki-sensei shouted back at us, "Get a room next time, 'kay?"

The teachers in our school are weird.

Naruto and I looked at each other and stormed (only Naruto did) the opposite direction from each other.

On the way home, I turned on my phone and smiled at the screen.

**2 New messages: Touzuna Kiruma**

I clicked them open.

Kiruma: _Rawrgh! I didn't get anything done at detention GAH!_

Kiruma: _wasted an hour of my life. FML_

I shook my head, chuckling.

Karasumi: _Funny. I just got out of detention as well…..but I'm done with my homework._

My phone vibrated.

Kiruma:  _damn you! damn the teacher! ahhhhh. :'o_

He seemed really vexed. I smiled as I replied:

Karasumi: _Damn yourself for not finishing it. You've got plenty of time later. Anyway, I'm on my way home so I'd rather not slam into a telephone pole while I'm at it, so I'll talk to you later._

Kiruma:  _lol, same here. 'cept I've honed my skill so I can totally text and not hit anything. :D well, I'll talk to you when I talk to you then._

I held in a snicker when I recalled Naruto very skillfully smacking face first into a wall.

I stopped in front of my house. It was essentially a four story with a large two story, attic and a basement. The lawn was perfectly trimmed and mowed. Flowers were planted on each side of the long pathway to the front door, each one of them identical to one another. Neat and tidy as always. Perfect. Just how Uchiha Fugaku liked it.

Opening the door with a sigh, I made my way up the stairs and into my room. There was no one home. I smiled bitterly. Of course not. Father and Brother were currently in America for work. The last time someone had welcomed me home was when I was eight, jumping into my mother's arms with a goofy smile after coming home from school. And the last time someone graced their presence at my house when I arrived home was three years ago. I had gotten sick and was walking back home after buying some medicine at a convenient store to see Naruto leaning against the house gates with a  _very_ disgruntled look that was comparable to a five-year-old whose mother forgot it was his birthday. The blonde had been forced to deliver the school work I missed. To be honest, it was a gratifying sight. I was not forgotten, even if it was  _Naruto_  who had remembered.

I set down my school bag and climbed back down the stairs to the kitchen. There was a plate of onigiri sitting on the table covered in saran wrap.

_Sasuke-bocchama: I made some onigiri for you. Hopefully they're still warm when you get home! If not, put them in the microwave for thirty seconds. Enjoy!_

It was a note my housekeeper had left. I pressed a finger against the saran wrap, feeling the coldness seeping through it.

It wasn't too different from the cold that gripped my heart right now.

For some reason, I thought of Touzuna Kiruma at that moment. I put a hand in my pocket and wrapped my fingers around my phone, holding it tightly as though it were my salvation.

It was, in a way.

That night, I went to bed with my phone tucked under my pillow. I swore to myself that I would never tell a soul what I did—not even Kiruma.

* * *

I awoke to sounds of shuffling downstairs—I was a light sleeper, so even the smallest sounds woke me up. Feeling dread creep in my stomach, I climbed out of bed and quietly slipped out of my room. As I neared the staircase, the awful feeling only got stronger. No one came to the Uchiha household so early in the morning except for one person—

"Sasuke." A low, cold voice came from below the stairwell. He must have heard me open my door from downstairs. I hated his good hearing.

I mentally cursed in my mind and almost turned around to lock myself in my room. Instead, I answered in an equally (at least I think so) emotionless voice, "Father. You're home early." I began to descend the stairs in a fashion which I hoped didn't seem anxious. "Where's Itachi?"

Uchiha Fugaku was in the living room that was never used, papers scattered across from all four corners of the large table that he stood before. I stopped at the doorway of the room light only by the morning sun, watching him sort through the papers. He didn't even look up as he said, "I got a call from the school."

Oh, fuck.

I resisted the urge to shuffle my feet. I raised an eyebrow and feigned calm. "About what?"

The older man stilled, and in the same moment, so did the blood in my veins. He finally looked up, his eyes meeting mine. The black in his eyes were the exact same color as mine, yet it felt so different—like I was staring into two bottomless pits that knew of no human emotion. He said coldly, "You know very well what I'm referring to. You got into a fight,  _again._ "

I cleared my throat uncomfortably and shifted slightly. Ignoring the twisted anger building in my stomach, I said stoically, "I'm sorry, Father."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again."

There was a pregnant pause in the room as I stood there, waiting for my father to break eye contact. His mouth opened a small fraction, indicating he was about to speak. However, no words came out as he turned away from me once more. The spell was broken when he resumed his paper shuffling and I spun around to begin walking up to my room. Just as my hand touched the door knob to my room, my father spoke, his deep voice carrying all the way here. "Your grades aren't looking to good either. You clearly haven't been focused enough on your studies if you had the time to be picking fights."

Deciding not to reply, I entered my room silently with an ugly knot in my throat that refused to leave since the minute Uchiha Fugaku walked through the front door. I quickly changed and brushed my teeth, getting ready for school despite being earlier than usual. I wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible.

With my backpack slung over one shoulder, I refrained from bounding down the stairs like an over eager kid who loved school way more than they should. I was glad, when I closed the front door of the house, that the man I was running away from did not say a thing to me.

My driver wouldn't come until half an hour later, so I opted to walking to school, even though the area I lived was slightly farther away from Konoha High to be considered a walking distance. That didn't matter to me—I had plenty of time to get there.

As I walked through the streets of Tokyo, I stared at everything and nothing. I was beginning to regret my decision of walking to school because it gave me too much freedom to think about things I didn't want to think about.

I hated my father and my brother for abandoning themselves after my mother's death. Not only did they throw away themselves, but also me and most importantly, my mother. They turned their backs to everything she taught us. Don't ever forget about your family, she said. The one thing in the world you can have an infinite amount of is love, she said. Money, reputation and power means little compared to family, she said.

I think my mother knew she was the only one keeping our family together. The last time we visited her in the hospital before her death, when Itachi and Father were outside her room talking to a doctor, she cried and hugged me, as though she already knew this was the last time she would see me. She whispered in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

My eight-year-old self didn't know what she meant by that, but now I did. She was sorry for leaving me so early and taking away my father and brother.

She was wrong.

That day, I lost a mother, a father and a brother, but it was my father who took away himself and Itachi. I hated him with my whole being for doing this, but even my hatred for him couldn't compare for my disgust and loathing for myself.

I used to hate myself for my inability to save our family, but later I realized there was never anything to save in the first place from the moment my mother drew her last breath. What I tormented myself with was the fact that I,  _even now,_  still care about what my father thought of me. I wished I could say that every good grade I got was for myself. I wished I could say every skill I've mastered was for myself. I knew there was no point in trying to please a man so sordid. And because I knew this for a fact, it was weak and disgusting of me to still crave for his approval.

I stared ahead at the school gates that I was gradually approaching. By now, it wasn't too long before class would start, and students were dominating the street in number. From behind, I could hear a very familiar voice that was loud enough to stand out from the noisy chatter I blocked out.

It was Naruto of course.

I scowled and quickened my pace, not looking to confronting him. Not now, at least. I was too shaken from seeing my father today. Everything from eight years ago had rushed back to me, and I wasn't ready to act like my usual self yet.

"Hey, the Bastard is walking to school today!"

Shit. Naruto had spotted me. I was about to break into a run, but that would seem like I was scared of him. I ignored him and entered the school campus in a brisk pace that still looked casual.

"Bastard! Hey!"

I could hear him running towards me now, calling out the nickname he gave me again. My heart jumped to my throat and I almost swore aloud when I heard Naruto right behind me who sneered, "Bastard, stop ignoring me. Where's the driver of yours now, Sasuke? Did he get sick of your stuck up attitude?"

I decided I couldn't keep ignoring him, so I turned around and gave him my deadliest glare that could scare away everyone in a five-mile radius. I felt a small victory as I saw him flinch, albeit only slightly. He trained his piercing blue eyes on me that seemed to stare right at my soul. Naruto's face was suddenly completely serious as he asked in a low voice for only my ears, "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! :'D Sorry for the late update lol. Hope this added some more depth to Sasuke's character.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked my first chapter! This’ll be a fun story to write J J


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